The Air Distribution System MEC 351 DR HAMID YUSOFF

AHU

 The purpose of air distribution system is to create the proper combination of temperature, humidity and air velocity in the occupied zone of the conditioned room. If not properly designed, the air distribution system has the potential to compromise the comfort conditions it was designed to maintain.

Terminology
Diffusion temperature
Supply air to space air temperature difference is termed diffusion temperature. In the example, the room design temperature, Tr is 25 deg C. and the supply temperature Tla, is 13 deg.C, hence the diffusion temperature is ( 25 13) = 12 deg C.

Terminology
Induction, entrainment, or aspiration Involve mixing of room air with the supply air outside the occupied zone. Entrainment is defined as the movement of room air into the jet caused by the air stream discharged from the outlet (secondary air motion).

aspiration

Terminology
Throw (blow) and radius of diffusion The throw or blow and the radius of diffusion refer to the horizontal distance that the supply air travels before reaching a specified low velocity known as the terminal velocity. Generally, throw or blow refers to discharge from the sidewall outlet, and the radius of diffusion relates to the ceiling outlets.

TERMINOLOGY AHU
An air handler, or air handling unit (often abbreviated to AHU), is a device used to condition and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. Usually, an air handler is a large metal box containing a blower, heating and/or cooling elements, filter racks or chambers, sound attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to ductwork that distributes the conditioned air through the building, and returns it to the AHU. Sometimes AHUs discharge (supply) and admit (return) air directly to and from the space served, without ductwork.

Terminology Occupied Zone

3 inches to 72 inches above the floor level. Two feet in from the walls

Good room air distribution requires the following characteristics for comfort:Comfort is maintained through the change in seasons when the following conditions are maintained in the space occupied zone.
Air temp maintained between 73-77F RH maintained between 25-60% Maximum air motion in the occupied zone 1. Air velocities throughout the occupied zone (called residual velocities ) between 25 35 FPM for applications where people are seated. (FPM feet perminute) 2. Moving people are higher air velocities are acceptable ( 50 -70 FPM) Maximum temperature gradient (temperature fluctuation) 1-2 cooling 4 heating
Note: Occupied zone of most spaces is considered to be from the floor to an elevation of 6 ft. Above this height, greater temperature fluctuations are permissible

Evaluating Comfort Comfort criteria

effective draft temperature - Kelvin

As mentioned previously, certain parameters can be controlled to ensure a relatively comfortable environment. The question is how does one evaluate the system to make sure that the actual parameters are within the allowable range? Standard methods exist to evaluate these parameters in real or simulated spaces to determine if the conditions are being met. The first evaluation concept is called the effective draft temperature - Kelvin , which uses the local air temperature and velocity in a single equation to determine a relative feeling of coolness. The equation is:

The effective draft temperature is evaluated at many locations throughout the space and comfort studies have shown that the effects of temperature and velocity on comfort will be acceptable if is kept between -3 and +2 F

The Air Diffusion Performance Index (ADPI)

The percentage of locations in a space in which the limits of the effective draft temperature are met. In other words, an ADPI of 80 means that 80%; of the locations in the space have an effective draft temperature of -3 to +2 F. Obviously, an ADPI of 100%; would be the ultimate condition, but the efforts required to achieve this condition would often cost much more than the added benefit. Studies have shown that an ADPI of 80%; or more results in satisfactory comfort.

Successful Design Achieves

Good ventilation effectiveness Avoids dumping (lambakan) Avoids draft

Description of terms used in air distribution

Throw (T) - The maximum horizontal distance from the center of the air outlet to a point in the airstream where the air velocity has decayed (menyusut) to some arbitrary terminal velocity (typically 150, 100, and 50 fpm). The common unit of measure is feet (ft) Drop (D) - The vertical distance from an air outlet to the lower edge of a horizontally projected airstream envelope. The common unit of measure is feet (ft).

Air patterns
The are a few facts about how facts about how an air supply to a room will behave which are important to understand in order to select and locate air supply devices properly and to balance and adjust the devices. 1. When air lower temperature than room air is supplied (as in summer), it will drop. 2. When air higher in temperature than room air is supplied (as in winter), it will rise. 3. When air is supplied parallel to and near a ceiling, it will tend to hug the ceiling for some distance. This is called the ceiling or surface effect. 4. The supply air to the room ( called the primary air) when distributed from air supply device, will induce room air (called secondary air) into air stream, thus rapidly mixing the supply air and the room air.

Outlet location
High wall. This is a good location for cooling because the cold air will drop naturally and adequate air circulation throughout the occupied zone will occur. Ceiling. This is excellent location for cooling because the cold air will drop naturally. Low wall. This is a good location for heating because the warm air will rise naturally. Floor or sill. This is an excellent location for heating if located under windows, because it counteracts the cold air downdraft.

location

Cooling good air distribution

Heating poor air distribution

Ceiling outlet location for cooling provides good distribution

Floor or sill location under window for heating provides good air distribution

Supply air outlets and air distribution patterns

Grilles and registers These consist of a frame and fixed or adjustable parallel bars. Ceiling diffusers These consists of a series of separated concentric rings or louvres with a collar or neck to connect to the duct. Slot diffusers A slot diffuser is a long strip-shaped outlet with one or more narrow openings. Plenum ceiling panels The confined space above the ceiling is used as a large plenum from which the supply air is delivered through slots or holes, particularly to large zones of uniform temperature.

Outlet Classification Types of air supply devices

Group A. Outlets mounted in or near the ceiling that discharge air horizontally. Group B. Outlets mounted in or near the floor that discharge air vertically in a non-spreading jet. Group C. Outlets mounted in or near the floor that discharge air vertically in a spreading jet. Group D. Outlets mounted in or near the floor that discharge air horizontally. Group E. Outlets mounted in or near the ceiling that project primary air vertically.

Group A High Sidewall Grilles

Group A Ceiling Diffusers

Neck, face, core & free area

Neck Area & Neck Velocity

Outlet Discharge Patterns

Circular Diffuser
The downward-jet pattern may be of benefit when the outlet is installed in a tall space and HVAC (heating, ventilation air conditioning) is in heating Mode The visualization Shows consequences for cooling mode

Square/Rectangular Diffusers

Square Diffuser
provides flexibility for distributing air in a variety of patterns

Slot Diffuser

Slot Diffuser

allows directing the air downward

Air distribution system design

Room air distribution Outlet selection and location procedure Return air system

Room air distribution

Conditioned air should be supplied so that natural convection, radiation and conduction effects are counteracted. Return grilles should be so located that direct by passing of air from the supply outlet to the return grill will not occur. Adequate return grilles should be provided and the same should be sized for low friction loss. Supply outlets should be so selected that their throw puts the conditioned air where it is needed, but excessive throw should not be allowed in which case the air would bounce off the walls and create draft. The desirable length of throw is up to three fourth of the distance to the opposite side of the wall. Noise level of supply outlets must kept low. Supply outlets should have adjusting features so that good room air distribution can be obtained.

Outlet Selection and location procedure 1.Determine Air Volume Requirements & Room Size. In case more than one air outlet
is used, the total air flow rate needs to be divided by the number of outlets. = 1.2 = (3 /) = ( ) = ()
2.Select diffuser type and location within room. Considering factors as air quantity, distance available for throw, structural characteristics and architectural constraints. For example, if circular ceiling diffusers are to be used, each would be centred in a ceiling area that is roughly square in shape as the air is supplied in all directions from the diffuser. 3.Determine room characteristic length from table, L

ASHRAE Outlet Selection Steps 4.Select recommended throw to length ratio from the ADPI selection guide

ASHRAE Outlet Selection Steps

5.Calculate throw .

6.Locate appropriate outlet size from mfgrs catalog. 7.Check static pressure & noise criteria

Return air system

Several factors should be considered in locating return air grilles Location of grilles should avoid causing drafts in the occupied zone. The return air duct system should be sized for low pressure drop to reduce noise generation. It is not required to locate a return air grille in each space. Excessive air collected at a single return should be avoided, because of the possibility of creating drafts or noise. Return air grilles should be so located that short circuiting is avoided prior to complete mixing and heat exchange of supply air.

Recommended Sound Reduction Methods

The following steps can be taken to reduce the sound generation of air outlets and air inlets: Reduce the airflow delivered to each device by utilizing a greater number of devices for the same total airflow to or from the space. However, the size of the devices may need to be reduced to maintain the proper room air motion. Increase the size of the air outlet or air inlet, which decreases the face velocity and pressure loss. However, increasing the size of an air outlet without increasing the airflow will result in shorter throws and may cause conditioned air to drop into the occupied zone. Balancing dampers should not be used in the neck of the air outlet. This can add anywhere from 5 to 16 NC to the sound rating, depending on the amount of damper closure. Balancing dampers should be located as far upstream from the air outlet as possible. The approaching ductwork to the air outlet should be kept as straight as possible. Any offset or abrupt bend will add up to 15 NC to the sound rating. If flexible duct is used, sharp bends should be prevented at the neck of the air outlet. As a general rule of thumb, the face velocity of an air outlet should not exceed 800 fpm and the face velocity of an air inlet should not exceed 400 fpm.

Example 1
Select a round ceiling diffuser for a room in an office building, as shown in below. The room, 4.2 m wide by 4.8 m long and with ceiling 2.4 m above the floor, is to be supplied with 120 litres/s of conditioned air. The room load was estimated to be 125 W/m2. A noise criteria (NC) of 20 -35 would be acceptable.

diffuser 4.2 m

4.8 m

Example 2
Specify circular ceiling diffusers for cooling a school room to be maintained at 25 deg. C. The cooling load for the room is 13.2 kW and the supply air temperature is 13 deg.C.

10 m

12 m